JBIC & Kexim among lenders of $2.45 billion for Vietnam coal power plant

(Straits Times, Singaport, 18 April 2018) DBS and OCBC are among a group of banks and lending agencies that have signed off on financing of about US$1.87 billion (S$2.45 billion) for a controversial coal-fired power station in Vietnam. The 1,200MW Nghi Son 2 power station in Tinh Gia district, Thanh Hoa province, is one of a number of large coal-fired power plants planned to meet Vietnam's energy needs. But green groups, the International Energy Agency and the World Bank fear such big coal projects will exacerbate climate change by locking in years of polluting emissions. Burning coal is a major source of local air pollution and carbon emissions blamed for heating up the planet. The loan was signed last Friday (April 13) with export credit agencies Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and Export-Import Bank of Korea (Kexim); Japanese banks Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp, MUFG, Mizuho and Shinsei Bank; DBS and OCBC; and Maybank of Malaysia. US Ex Im turned down funding in February 2018.